Increasingly in recent weeks, I find myself critically examining why so many religious folks are not actually religious at all. In other words, they can talk the talk, but just a relative few walk the walk. These ones seem to relegate God and religion to a mental exercise, an emotional catharsis, a family tradition, a cultural artifact for a couple of hours one day a week (if that); but they do not employ it as a guiding principle for living daily life. As I began to consider this disconnect one morning recently, these few words came to mind.
One of the major inconveniences of living in a big city is traffic. All of us have be stuck in a traffic jam on the highway, and depending on our mood and where we're going (among other things), our emotional response may be one of resigned acceptance to full blown outrage! But, if there's anything worse that gridlock traffic, it is a traffic pattern in which there is an open lane (especially the left lane) that would allow us to move past a patch of congestion, except that that lane is blocked by a slow driver. That driver has a clear road ahead of him, but for whatever reason, he is slowly cruising by the patch of congestion. Following a slow driver in the fast lane is frustrating because that driver is in the way, holding up traffic!
If we think that this is frustrating, can you imagine how people in the world feel when their search for God is impeded by religion (or religious folks), an institution and people that supposedly exist specifically to accelerate the seekers' search?! What's more, can you imagine how God feels when people who are supposed to be walking in His way do more to hold up the progress of others (seeking or) walking in His way than they themselves make progress along His way?
If one wants to be true and faithful stewards of this sublime truth, then one must constantly ask one's self, am I walking in His way, or am I just in His way?
We can take as an anchor and starting point the words from Ezekiel 14:1-11 In this scripture, we see what, to us, is a ridiculous scene: idolatrous elders seeking a Word from the LORD. What's wrong with this picture?
Several questions come to mind. "Why do these elders want to hear from God, if they've been in the habit of avoiding or ignoring Him for so long?" Were they simply looking to have fun at the expense of a soothsaying prophet? Were their other sources now failing them? Had these other sources lost some of their novelty or luster? What exactly did they plan to do about any Word that came from God, since they had already been actively avoiding Him?
The sad part about this scene is that these elders were the religious leaders of the people. Folks looked to these elders for direction and guidance; and while we all can and should go to God for ourselves, these elders still held a lot of influence over the people due to their high office and historical legacy from the time of Moses.
God, through His prophet Ezekiel, gave these elders a reasonable (and merciful) Word, "REPENT! Or else, I'll let you follow your idolatrous beliefs to your own destruction; and, I will hold you accountable for any destruction that comes upon the people due to you leading them astray."
In other words, God has always wanted a direct relationship with His people. We can help facilitate that by example, or we can just get in the way. And, it seems that some of the elders of the Congregation, the very ones charged with showing the way by walking in His way, have instead simply been in His way, and were leading the people astray.
As much as we look up to the elders, the ministers, or any spiritual authority, we must never forget that people are human. People make mistakes. As my mentor said, "Everyone will, at some point, let you down." Assuming that a minister or other person in a leadership role has the best intentions, we must remain cognizant of the fact that everyone has their own cross to bear, their own struggle to overcome, and their own shortcomings to transcend.
God gave us His Law so that there would be some objective metric by which we could govern ourselves in our daily walk. It is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. It helps us to see what is right when the way is dark, whether it is dark due to difficult or challenging circumstances in our lives (unemployment, death, heartbreak, etc.), or dark due to the forces of Satan working on our minds and hearts (temptation, witchcraft, envy and jealousy, etc.).
One of the most pivotal moments in my development was when I came to the realization that my parents, grandparents, my aunts and uncles, and other people that I held in high esteem were not the spotless saints that I had once believed them to be. I became savvy enough to see behind the facades, clever enough to read between the lines, and observant enough to see occasions when the walk didn't quite match the talk. I still loved them; they were still good people, respectable folks, still worthy of the esteem that I gave them; but I realized that I had unfairly placed them on pedestals of my own making. I realized that even they had to make their way through the valleys and shadows of life; and no one comes out of there unscathed! And, if I followed them too closely, then if they got hung up in briars and thorns, or slipped into a pit, they would be in my way! If I placed them up too high, they would be in God's way (where I couldn't see Him).
I believe that my elders have demonstrated a good example. But, if I do not look ultimately to the LORD for guidance and direction for myself, my salvation will be subject to the humanness of another.
Certainly, I have my own briars and thorns to make it through, and there are pits that I'm working to avoid. Like you, I've got scratches all over my body, and I've twisted my ankle a time or two falling down into pits or tripping over rocks. In other words, even with the most righteous and well-intended people before us, self included, anyone who is walking in God's way can suddenly get stuck and be in God's way! This is certainly true because, as my father always said, "Everybody is somebody to somebody."
In spite of this admonishment, we can sometimes think and act in a selfish way, unaware of and oblivious to how our thoughts and actions may unintentionally lead another astray. And, that misleading word spoken in anger, that misleading action done to take what we want or resist what we don't want, which leads another astray would be on our hands, because those actions put us in God's way as He tries to reach His children through us.
Make no mistake about it. You don't have to have the title "elder", you don't need to be a minister or carry credentials. You don't need to sit on the pulpit. But, because you know the LORD as He is, the incorporeal Source and Creator of all, then all you have to do is walk in God's way, and those that follow you (your Light) will one day meet God for themselves!
You know God's Word to Isaiah, "Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else;" so you can help others to look to God (and not a creation of God) for salvation.
Needless to say, then, whether and how we Walk makes all the difference in the world. The Walk is the only thing that transforms us from an obstruction to a way-shower. In our Walk is where we reveal our intentions. At some point, the religious philosophy and the critical study of doctrinal tenets and mystical truths must give way to proper action in waking life. In other words, we have to eat, we need a place to live, we need clothing. We must go out into the world, relate to it and our fellowman in such a way that, as we acquire what we need to fulfill our life's purpose, we also give or enhance life and light as we go. With each passing day, how we walk to and fro in the earth will show us and reveal to others whether we're walking in His way or if we're just in His way.
Philosophies, doctrines, and tenets are only as good as the actions they encourage or inspire. Philosophy doesn't put food on someone's table. Doctrine does not encourage the downtrodden who feels like giving up in the face of life's challenges. Religious tenets do not comfort a grieving widow or keep a young, impressionable youth on the straight-and-narrow. However, if we are inspired to act according to these teachings, then we can help the willing souls achieve salvation, not by thoughts, but by deeds.
If we are walking in God's Way, our constant prayer should be from Psalm 139:23-24, "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
If we are walking in God's Way, then people will grab hold of your skirt and say (Zechariah 8:23), "We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."
If we are walking in God's Way, then we shall be like that tree from (Psalm 1) that is planted by the rivers of water... and whatsoever we do shall prosper" because "The LORD knoweth the way of the righteous; but the way of [those that get in His way] shall perish."
